The removal of the FHM (Fuel Handling Machine) marks a large milestone in the cleanup effort at Unit 3. The FHM has been one of the biggest debris and obstacles to retrieve from Unit 3’s spent fuel pool and this accomplishment shows that significant progress is being madehttp://www.tepco.co.jp/en/press/corp-com/release/2015/1256671_6844.html

Thermocouple inside the Containment Vessel of Reactor 2 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant shows abnormal rise in temperature

On April 7, TEPCO disclosed that a thermocouple inside the Containment Vessel of Reactor 2 at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant showed abnormal temperature.

The temperature was 20.9 degrees Celsius at 5AM on April 3 but it rapidly rose to 70 degrees Celsius at 11AM. On 5PM on April 5 it further rose to 88.5 degrees Celsius. Other thermocouples show normal temperatures. TEPCO says "It does not affect the control of the reactor," and is currently investigating.

So which thermocouple spiked? It is the thermocouple "supply air D/W cooler(TE-16-114K#1)". There is a site that continues to plot charts from the plant parameter data disclosed by TEPCO, and here's the chart plotting all "supply air D/W cooler" thermocouples:

Looking at the chart, it is more likely that this particular thermocouple broke, and the temperature inside the Containment Vessel remains between 20 and 30 degrees Celsius.

As of July 2014, only 8 thermocouples out of 24 inside Reactor 2 Containment Vessel are monitored in accordance with the safety procedures set by regulatory authorities (meaning only 8 are properly functioning), according to TEPCO's information.

In contrast, 16 thermocouples out of 21 are functioning properly in Reactor 1 Containment Vessel, and all 19 thermocouples are functioning properly in Reactor 3 Containment Vessel.

Tuesday, March 10, 2015

A reporter and a cameraman from Jiji Tsushin went to Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant on February 26, 2015 and made the video available on Jiji's site and on Youtube on March 2.

So what has changed? Reactor 3's top floor has been cleaned of debris, although the lower floors are still full of debris (1:50). Slightly murky Reactor 4's Spent Fuel Pool on the operating (top) floor is now empty except for a few control rods (3:10); workers had finished removing all 1,535 fuel assemblies from the pool in December last year. The cask used to transport the fuel assemblies from the pool to the common spent fuel pool on the ground is still at the pool side.
The cooling system for the frozen soil wall is housed in a new building (3:40). (Yes, they still do plan to build the frozen soil wall in the ground around the reactor buildings and turbine buildings.)

At about 50 seconds into the video, the reporter and the cameraman go to the location where they can see across the reactors (with Reactor 1 being the closest). The guide, a TEPCO worker, tells them to be brief because the radiation is high and there is nothing to shield the radiation (coming from the reactors?). The guide says, "It's 300 microsieverts/hour."

TEPCO's president Hirose just said in his address to TEPCO employees on the anniversary of the earthquake/tsunami/nuclear accident that there are over 7,000 workers working at Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant.

Reuters Japan has a collection of 70 photographs titled "Four Years Ago in Japan". While the nuclear accident that was triggered by the massive earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011 has been the focus (often the only focus) for many, the devastation caused by the earthquake and tsunami looks just like a nuclear bomb detonated over Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, or incendiary bombs dropped on Tokyo on March 10, 1945.

Photo 1, Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture

"Smoke rises from houses damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in Sendai, March 12, 2011.
REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak"

Photo 8, Nihonmatsu City, Fukushima Prefecture

"A mother tries to talk to her daughter who has been isolated for signs of radiation after evacuating from the vicinity of Fukushima"s nuclear plants, at a makeshift facility to screen, cleanse and isolate people with high radiation levels in Nihonmatsu, March 14, 2011.
REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao"

Photo 9, surreal Otsuchi City, Iwate Prefecture on March 14, 2011

Photo 21, a piano, almost like an objet d'art, in Rikuzentakata City, Iwate Prefecture:

"A piano is submerged in water in the area devastated by tsunami in Rikuzentakat, March 21, 2011.
REUTERS/Damir Sagolj"

And this, I believe, is near Fukushima I Nuclear Power Plant, right by the ocean. Rows and columns of "fre-con" bags(flexible container bags) stuffed with contaminated soil and debris removed as the result of the government effort to "decontaminate" the villages, towns and cities in Fukushima, temporarily stored outside, right by the ocean.

When the earthquake/tsunami hit on March 11, 2011 in northern Japan, they feared the death toll would be in hundreds. Then over 1,000. Then thousands.

As of March 10, 2015, 15,891 people are dead, 2,584 missing, 6,152 injured (from wiki, data compiled by National Police Agency). The number for death does not include 3,194 deaths (as of September 30, 2014) after the earthquake and tsunami. Many, particularly the elderly, died of cold and unsanitary conditions at the shelters.

2015 is off to a rocky start. The last week was dominated by events in the French capital where a satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo's editor and cartoonists were gunned down by French citizens who claimed to have taken orders from either Al-Qaeda or ISIS to avenge the Prophet.

The cry for "Freedom of Speech" has quickly morphed into the cry from the world governments for more government surveillance of free speech particularly on the Internet, to protect the rest of us plebs from "terrorists", with a quick jab at "racism".

Both these images look sinister, as I read this article at Infowars (1/11/2015):

Government Prepares Internet Speech Crackdown Following Paris Attacks

“We forcefully noted the need for greater cooperation with Internet companies to guarantee the reporting and removal of illegal content, particularly content that makes apologies for terrorism or promotes violence or hate,” said French Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve.

US and EU bureaucrats gathered at the French interior ministry to formulate a response to the Islamic State, al-Qaeda and other jihadist groups, many supported, trained and financed by the Gulf emirates, Turkey, western intelligence and the U.S. military.

The meeting in France will be followed by a “security summit” to be held in Washington next month.

“We will bring together all of our allies to discuss ways in which we can counteract this violent extremism that exists around the world,” said Attorney General Eric Holder.

The Paris attack will be used to impose new and more draconian legislation over free speech and the right to communicate without interference by the state.

The legislation requires ISPs and web sites to provide government with information on users’ activities and authorizes surveillance by the state.

Britain, often cited as the incubator for police state activity in the West, leads the way.

In 2005 it imposed the Prevention of Terrorism Act which did away with long standing legal protections. The legislation permits arbitrary house arrest, prohibitions against free association, and bans on electronic communication.

In September, the British Home Secretary Theresa May criticized Parliament the “torpedoing” of a so-called snooper’s charter communications data bill that would outlaw speech the state considers “poisonous hatred.” May specifically cited the Islamic State when she argued in favor of the the legislation.

In addition to addressing the purported threat of Islamic speech, the law would also confront “all forms of extremism‚ including neo-Nazism,” according to The Guardian, and focus on the “culture of bullying and intimidation” in British schools.

So they will kill freedom of speech in order to protect freedom of speech. Makes sense in the world in 2015.

About my coverage of Japan Earthquake of March 11

I am Japanese, and I not only read Japanese news sources for information on earthquake and the Fukushima Nuke Plant but also watch press conferences via the Internet when I can and summarize my findings, adding my observations.

About This Site

Well, this was, until March 11, 2011. Now it is taken over by the events in Japan, first earthquake and tsunami but quickly by the nuke reactor accident. It continues to be a one-person (me) blog, and I haven't even managed to update the sidebars after 5 months... Thanks for coming, spread the word.------------------This is an aggregator site of blogs coming out of SKF (double-short financials ETF) message board at Yahoo.

Along with commentary on day's financial news, it also provides links to the sites with financial and economic news, market data, stock technical analysis, and other relevant information that could potentially affect the financial markets and beyond.

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